Out of Africa
by McGonagall's Bola
Summary: Set in Season 7. Horatio finds why the former lieutenant wasn't at Speed's funeral, who actually used to be Megan's favorite. Horatio/Megan -REWRITTEN!


"Megan?" The red haired Horatio Caine let out. He couldn't believe his eyes. He vaguely recognized the features, but she looked so much different than when he had last seen her. Older, of course. Happier, maybe.

"Wow!" Former Lieutenant Donner exclaimed looking around her with wide eyes. "Sure there's changed a lot here since I left... I walked past the employee schedule in the entrance hall. I couldn't immediately find many familiar names on it. Alexx', or Speedle's, for example. I would bet he's found another thrill in his life and resigned?"

Horatio couldn't quite grasp this. He looked at her awkwardly. It had been years since she'd resigned herself, because doing that kind of work had reminded her too much of Sean. She'd requested for him not to try and contact her. And now she was standing there after so many years and seemed to act as if nothing had happened. He barely suppressed the urge to reply, 'You would have known if you hadn't run away from your issues.' yet asked, "What are you doing here?" instead.

"I wanted to see whether it's changed here much since I left, and it surely has." She simply couldn't stop looking around her. She knew full well that science and technology were things that never stopped improving, but that it would have changed so much, she would have never thought. She didn't regret having come here after deciding to move back to Miami. She couldn't exactly place things anymore, but it looked very professional and sophisticated to say the least. Horatio had been a very good choice.

"Yeah."

"So where is everyone? Crime already called in this early?"

"Calleigh and Ryan are out on a case together in Biscayne Bay," Horatio informed her, and answered before giving her the chance to even ask who Ryan was, having noticed the immediate crinkle in her brows when he'd spoken. "Ryan would be Speed's replacement. No, he hasn't really resigned. He was shot in the line of duty. His weapon malfunctioned in a shooting and he took a round to the chest. It has already been almost five years," Horatio added, trying to emphasize how long it had been since she'd resigned as a lieutenant and his superior.

Megan's smile vanished almost immediately and she clasped one hand in front of her gaping mouth, as Horatio continued giving her a very short update of the employees. "Alexx, however, has resigned. She's being a doctor in Miami General now. She realized that she wanted to spend more time with her family and the rest of the living than with the dead. And then you have Natalia Boa Vista. She has worked for the FBI and was supposed to be an infiltrator in DNA, but is part of the real CSI team now. And I have told you about Ryan being hired after Speed's death. I suppose you must have noticed the new names as well?" Horatio said, sounding polite. "You were a criminalist after all. So what have you been up to since you left?"

Megan sighed. "Were… I went to Africa. My younger sister is married to an African American man and works there in South Africa as a doctor for Doctors Without Borders. After Sean, I needed to find myself back. The simplicity in which the African population lives is pretty amazing. It makes you realize how lucky you are, and makes you appreciate what you have. It feels like being cut off the world for a while, but it's not necessarily a bad thing. I must admit it felt really awkward to come back to Miami and find out that you have hot water running from a tap," Megan said, trying to add a little smile.

Horatio didn't act on it, though. "No one has forced you to come back."

"Why are you so hostile?" The former lieutenant wondered, pushing her now long dark brown hair back over her shoulder. She wouldn't have expected him to accept her with open arms, mostly because their relationship had always overall been purely professional. She hadn't expected this either, though.

"We used to have very different opinions and methods," Horatio reminded her. "I don't think either of us has changed much. At our age, we are unlikely to change opinions and methods. There's no fool like an old fool."

"We used to have disagreements professionally, yeah," Megan agreed, "but do we have to act this childish for the rest of our lives then, because we had different views here at CSI? Boy, Horatio... You're reminding me an awful lot of Rick Stetler. And that's no compliment."

The redhead must admit to himself that she actually had a point there. "OK. What do you think about we go and have something to eat at Auntie Bellum's after shift?"

"Sounds good. I shall meet you there."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Megan whispered, putting down her glass of red wine. The red haired man sitting right opposite her and for whom the words were mentioned merely nodded. She could understand that it hurt. Even after all these years, it still hurt her to think about Sean, too. She might have 'moved on', as they said in the streets, but she'd never forget or stop missing him. They'd had an unique bond; one she wouldn't find with anyone else. She just would have never thought of Horatio Caine as the family man, who would want to get married and have children. They didn't speak for more than five minutes.

"I wonder why you and Calleigh never got together," Megan suddenly said. "You used to be one block against me, you two."

"We just used to have the same view on things."

"That's what I meant. You feel each other like no one else of the team does. Did, at least. I must admit the two of you had far different ways of working than the ones I preferred in the time, but in the end, your team work succeeded in bringing everyone down on their knees. I can't remember any case unsolved when you two got your teeth in it."

Horatio contemplated this. Megan could be right, but things were different now. It wasn't only the view of the crime lab that had changed, nor only the employees. The mutual understanding between some of them had been found, and between others had been lost. The newbies from back then had grown to be veteran members of Miami's CSI team and, Horatio must admit, were far more capable than he could have ever been. "She's with Eric."

"Calleigh and Eric?" Megan frowned. "He's far too hot headed for her, or she maybe too calm for him."

"I agree. Megan... We used to be a good team from time to time, too," Horatio stated, taking the soft olive green napkin on the right of his empty plate and wiping his mouth with it. The redhead eyed her curiously. What would she be answering on that?

"We had our moments, yeah," the dark brunette slowly admitted and added a little smile. She easily emptied the rest of the wine and asked, "Shall I ask for the bill?" When Horatio nodded in response, she calmly smiled at one of the waiters to draw his attention and asked politely if they could have the bill. He nodded briefly before disappearing. Megan smiled. She seemed to still have it at the age of forty.

Megan turned to the red haired man. "Thank you for dropping me off here. I appreciate it... Do you want to come in for a coffee or something stronger?"

"No, thank you."

"Oh, come on..." Megan nearly pouted, looking up at him. In response, Horatio shut off the engine of his Hummer with a sigh and pulled up the hand brake at the parking lot of Megan's hotel. She'd have to live there until she'd found herself a new home. She was coming back to live in Miami, apparently. Horatio had long promised himself that wherever he'd go, he'd never sell his house in Miami. He loved Miami and he knew out of self-knowledge that he'd always come back there. Miami was his home now.

"All right, then."

"You haven't changed a bit," Megan said, as she carefully handed her old colleague a coffee. She herself took a not too small sip from her vodka. She sank down next to him on the edge of the bed. "I'm sorry for all the mess. I have only arrived here yesterday, and I didn't quite remember where I had put everything."

"That's all right," Horatio ensured her. "And... neither have you."

"I have become older, just like you and everyone else," she chuckled, putting the now empty glass aside as he quietly drank his coffee. Suddenly, he stood up to place his mug on the table where she'd put her empty glass. Maybe he'd felt that strange tension, too, and was frightened by it. Megan smiled at the thought of Lieutenant Horatio Caine being frightened. She couldn't help but bite her lip for a moment, before saying, "What's wrong?"

"I better go. You're tired and–" "I'm not," Megan interrupted, taking his hand and pulling him back onto the bed, crawling onto his lap almost immediately, straddling him. She pushed herself flush against his chest, her stiff nipples triggering him through more than three layers of clothing. Horatio couldn't say it didn't do anything for him, but he had to keep his mind together.

"Megan... We cannot do this..."

"Why not?" Megan wondered. "We're two consenting adults that are both very much in need of hot steaming sex. Plus, we're in an empty hotel room where no one looks up from a few screams more or less... Don't be silly, Horatio; I know you want it."

"You're drunk." Megan just chuckled at this, finding Horatio's man parts and cupping them through his pants and boxers. Alright... He was getting it particularly difficult to want to leave there... This was a whole other side of Megan, and he couldn't say he disliked it. When she started planting her teeth into his neck, he couldn't contain himself anymore, and rolled the two of them over, leaving him on top between her legs. The dark brunette smiled, pulling his ginger head down with her hand in his hair. Their lips met each other for the first time and already moved so much in unison.

"Why, you're way overdressed, Lieutenant..."


End file.
